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Johnny Depp rules over 'The Lone Ranger' premiere

ANAHEIM -- The movie poster might say The Lone Ranger, but at Saturday night's worldwide Disneyland premiere it was all about the sidekick Tonto -- played by Johnny Depp. An estimated 25,000 fans lined more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The movie poster might say The Lone Ranger, but it was all about the sidekick Tonto, played by Johnny Depp, at Saturday night's worldwide premiere at Disneyland Resort.

An estimated 3,000 fans lined more than 1,500 feet of red carpet to greet Depp, Armie Hammer and the rest of the cast for the Gore Verbinski-directed blockbuster due out July 3.

Much of the screaming was for the Pirates of the Caribbean star Depp, who was sometimes comically shadowed on the red carpet by five sunglasses-wearing security guards as the star mugged with enthusiastic fans.

"This is surreal. I'm not used to this," said Verbinski, as his voice was drowned out by chants for Depp. "I'm used to being on the set with Johnny where everyone knows each other and it's like 'Good morning, how you doing?' "

Eager fans started lining up for prime position at the premiere on Friday night.

"We pulled up and people were sleeping on the curb," says Verbinski.

Not all of the attention was on Depp. Verbinski pointed out that the re-telling of the classic American tale is a "two-hander" with The Social Network star Hammer stepping into the key role of John Reid, who becomes the Lone Ranger.

Johnny Depp waves at the fans who seemed to turn out mostly for him.(Photo: Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images)

"Johnny and I talked about it from the beginning," said Verbinski. "This movie is all about the chemistry between Johnny and Armie. And this is a unique pair."

There were multiple images on the red carpet of the Lone Ranger and Tonto walking while chained together, from a scene in the film.

"Believe me, there are far worse people to be stuck to, that's the truth," said Hammer, who attended the premiere with his wife, Elizabeth Chambers.

Hammer pointed out that his other co-star, the horse Silver, was also in attendance. But there was little concern that the equine was going to outshine him on his big day.

"It won't happen, I will punch a horse in the face. Don't say I won't," said Hammer, before continuing on the carpet which he estimated was "like 37 miles long."

Co-star Bryant Prince, 11, thoroughly enjoyed working his firstred carpet in a dark suit and a snazzy pink bow tie.

"I thought this is my first premiere ever, I might as well go for it," Prince confided. "It's great since I've watched the Grammys and other red carpets from home and suddenly I'm here."

But even Prince figured out how the system works pretty quickly as he made the rounds.

"When I heard the screaming really begin that's when I knew that Johnny Depp was here," said Prince. "That sound can only be for Johnny Depp."